Hellaine: New Companion
by Ailith Dragomere
Summary: Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games?
1. Walking to my Death

**Hellaine: New Companion**

**Part 1: Lapis Lazuli**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not, under any circumstances, own Deltora Quest or any characters from the series.

**Rated: **T

**A/N: **I do own Hellaine and her past.

**Summary: **Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games?

* * *

><p><strong>Walking to my Death<strong>

* * *

><p>They entered the door to the Champion Inn and to their surprise, found themselves in a very small closed room. A plump woman in a bright green dress decorated with many frills and ribbons stood behind a desk in one corner arguing with a woman, taller and more fierce, than herself.<p>

"If you wish for his their weapons, then I must ask their permission."

"You have their permission, Brightly." The woman snapped. "You just left."

"I am sorry, you are mistaken."

"I was just here, you asked me to leave and come back so you could pull them from training."

"They were not available."

"Then get them now, I will wait."

Brightly scowled. "Are you going to compete?"

"Are you lying to me, or are you just stupid?" The woman demanded.

"I am not handing over any weapons to anyone who is a competitor and certainly not a competitor's weapons to a non-competitor. Now if you are going to compete, then I will get you signed up, if not, I must ask you to leave."

"I will compete. Someone has to tell my friends why you refused to let me take their weapons to my home."

"Um...we would like to compete as well." Barda stepped up.

"Oh, good-day!" she cried with a wide smile. "I am Mother Brightly, your host. You didn't wait long I hope."

"Not at all," Barda promised.

"I'm glad, you have come to the right place." Mother Brightly grinned.

Lief looked over at the tall woman in the corner. Her face gave nothing away, no emotion, frankly, she looked bored. She was approximately twenty-five with a tall, slim build. Ebony hair flowed down the length of her back framing flawless pale skin and dark silver eyes.

She wore rough black legging that stopped below her knee under a rich blood red tunic with elbow length sleeves and a black undershirt. Her rough black boots, folded over at the ankle, were caked in mud, the same as her fingerless black gloves. She pulled her black cloak around her shoulder, placing her hood over her head, further cutting herself off from the rest of them.

She was stunning, beautiful, but a wave ice rolled off her shoulders, warning away strangers.

Lief pushed past the cold and cautiously approached her as Barda and Mother Brightly talked.

"Hello," he greeted. She looked over silently, and looked him over, nothing showing in her eyes. Suddenly, her eyes flashed and warmth rushed to her face.

"Hey," she rasped. Her voice was rough and quiet. "What are you doing here kid?"

"Competing."

"My advice, don't."

"You just want your friends to win."

"These are dangerous Games kid," she warned. Lief searched for any sense of ill-will and found only a friendly warning.

"I'm not a kid, I'm sixteen."

"When I was sixteen, I was walking to my death," she whispered. "You are still a child."

"I have to compete."

"You still have a choice. You can still walk away," she rasped.

"We have one silver coin between the three of us," he replied quietly. "Why do you hide you face? We've already seen it.

She was silent for a few seconds before placing her hand at her waist and pulling a drawstring bag from her belt. She placed the bag in his palm and curled his fingers around the rough brown leather before pulling off her hood. Lief pulled it to his chest looked inside and gasped at the small pile of gold coins.

"I can't take these."

"Get out while you still can," she said, her eyes pleading. "I have no choice, but you do."

"I can't," he whispered. "My friends, we need the 100 gold coins."

She sighed heavily and looked to Mother Brightly. When her back was turned, the woman pulled a dagger from her belt.

"Take this, hide in your boot." The woman whispered. "Whatever you do, do not let on you have it. Do not give it up."

"Why are you helping me?"

"You remind me of someone." She shrugged.

"Who?"

"I boy I met. Young kid, too young for the quest he bares."

"Who are you?"

"To you, I am Hellaine," she smiled warmly. The name was familiar to Lief, but he could not place where he had heard it. "Keep that name to yourself kid, don't need it spread around."

"Name and Town?" Mother Brightly stated. Hellaine looked up, surprised to see the woman behind the desk.

"Jordan," Hellaine stated. "Jordan of the sands."

"The sands?" Mother Brightly asked, hesitating.

"Shifting Sands." She replied, the icy bite back in her tone.

Mother Brightly wrote, frowning slightly.

"Quickly, I need a town." Barda hissed.

"Kincaid." Lief spoke up. "Near Del."

Barda nodded in agreement and turned to Mother Brightly.

"Name and Town?" Mother Brightly repeated, looking to Barda next.

"Oh...Berry of Kincaid."

"Kincaid I hear it is beautiful this time of year."

"Quite, and will stay as such when we have our winnings to bring home." Barda agreed. "My niece and nephew, Birdie and Joker are also from Kincaid."

Mother Brightly nodded, writing busily and apparently satisfied.

"Now," she said, jumping up with the book clutched under her arm. "Follow me if you please.!"

Things were moving very fast. Feeling rather dazed, Lief Barda and Jasmine followed the two older women into another room where stood a large set of scales, a long rule and a big cupboard.

"Please give me your weapons," Mother Brightly said, taking a key from the bunch at her waist and unlocking the cupboard. Then, as the companions hesitated, she clapped her hands sharply.

"We are not allowed weapons in the Champion Inn." Hellaine stated, holding back the ice in her voice as she pulled a knife out of her belt. Mother Brightly looked at her suspiciously, but with no weapons to demand, Mother Brightly couldn't demand any more from her.

Unwillingly, Lief and Barda unbuckled their swords, and Jasmine handed over the knife she wore at her own belt. Mother Brightly locked the weapons in the cupboard, nodding approvingly. "Do not fear," she smiled. "They will be quite safe here, and returned to you before you leave. Now, your measurements."

She weighed each competitor in turn and measured their heights, writing all the details down in her book. She felt their muscles and looked carefully at their hands and feet. Then she nodded, pleased.

"You need food and rest, my dears, but otherwise you are all strong, and should do well," she said. "I thought so when I first saw you. One last thing. Your special talents. What are they?"

She waited with her head on one side.

Lief, Barda and Jasmine glanced at one another, not quite sure what the woman meant.

"Agility." Hellaine spoke up.

"I...can climb," Jasmine said hesitantly. "I can balance on high places, swing, jump..."

"Excellent Birdie!" said Mother Brightly, and wrote AGILITY beside Hellaine and Jasmine's names, turning next to Barda. "And you Berry? Let me guess. Your talent would be strength. Am I right?"

Barda shrugged and nodded. The woman beamed, and wrote again. Then she looked at Lief. "And Joker?" she enquired.

_What is my special talent? _Lief wondered. He was not sure that he had one.

"Yes," Barda agreed.

"Speed," Hellaine replied.

"And how would you know the talent of one you do not know?"

"The same way I know you are cunning when you look so innocent." Hellaine snapped.

"She must have saw me running through the crowds," Leif suggested.

"Yes, that must be it!" cried Mother Brightly, writing SPEED beside his fake name. "Now, wait here a moment. I will not be long."

She bustled out of the room again. The companions looked at one another. All of them were bewildered at the sudden change in their fortunes, but it didn't last long as Barda turned to Hellaine.  
>"Yes, Jordan, how is it you knew my nephew's talent?"<p>

"The same way I know he is not your nephew," she replied. "And that the girl is not your niece."

"Who are you?"

"To you? Jordan." She stated. She kept her emotions in check, watching, analyzing every minute detail of Barda's reactions.

"But Jordan is not your real identity."

"No more than yours are. Next time you hide your identities, I suggest using a town in a different territory from where you grew up."

Barda wasn't sure what to say to her.

"No wonder people flock to Rithmere," Lief said in a low voice, cutting the silence. "It is surprising the whole of Deltora is not here. Why, at the very least folk get free food and a bed for a while."

"So long as they are willing to compete." Hellaine told him, leaning against the wall. A small diamond ring set in white gold glinted in sunlight. A small amethyst set in white gold sat in the crook of her neck. "These Games are far more difficult and more dangerous than you expect."

"No running or jumping race could be more dangerous than what we have been through." hissed Jasmine.

"The easiest part will be remembering those names of yours." Hellaine said. "These Games are not for the weak. Weapons may not be used, but some of us don't need weapons to kill." She warned as Mother Brightly came rustling into the room again. With her she brought four colored strips of cloth, a red, a green and two blue. She tied the red band around Barda's wrist, the green around Lief's, and a blue band on Jasmine and Hellaine's wrists. Their false names had been written on their bands, with their heights and weights underneath.

"Do not take your wristbands off, even to sleep," Mother Brightly advised. "They mark you as official competitors, show your special talents, and entitle you to food, drink, and entrance to the Games. Now... you will want to eat, I do not doubt, and rest after your journeys. Your silver coins if you please."

Hellaine and Jasmine each handed over their coins and in return received a key, Jasmine received 77, while Hellaine received 69.

"The keys to your rooms." Mother Brightly told them. Hellaine nodded and left to find her room. Mother Brightly turned back to the trio and smiled.

Barda's eyes stayed on her as she left the room.

_Some of us don't need weapons to kill_. The words were stuck in his head now, the meaning unclear.

"77, a lucky number indeed. Keep it safe." Mother Brightly warned.

As they nodded, she hesitated, nibbling at her bottom lip as if trying to make up her mind about something. Then, suddenly, she glanced behind her to make sure they were alone and leaned towards them with a rustle of green frills.

"Now...I do not say this to every competitor, but you are strangers to the Games, and I have taken a liking to you," she whispered. "Trust no one, however friendly. And keep your door locked at all times...especially at night. We do not want any...accidents."

Hellaine, hidden around the corner, heard every word. Light footsteps approached. When the trio, following Mother Brightly, rounded the corner, she was gone.

Wondering, the trio followed Mother Brightly down a hallway to a large dining room, where a great number of people wearing red, green, and blue wristbands were eating and drinking heavily. Many of the diners looked up and stared, their faces, alive with curiosity, challenge, suspicion, or menace. Most of them were very large and looked extremely strong, though there were some smaller, leaner men and women as well.

Lief lifted his chin and looked around proudly, determined to show he was not nervous or afraid. At a center table he saw Joanna and Orwen, the two tall companions he had seen on the highway. Hellaine sat alone at a far table, the only one not staring. Then he gave a start. Sitting near them, though alone, was another person he knew.

It was the dark, scarred traveler the companions had seen at Tom's shop, on their way to the City of the Rats, Doom, his companion had called him all those weeks ago. The man's hard eyes were fixed on the newcomers, but he gave no sign of recognizing them. His companion was no where in sight.  
>"Help yourselves to anything you fancy, my dears," Mother Brightly said, pointing to a long bench at the side of the room where dishes of food stood kept warm over low flames. "Eat, then rest. Do all you can to be fit for tomorrow. I have high hopes for you three! To me, you have the look of finalists. And I have seen many come and go."<p>

She had not troubled to lower her voice, and Lief fidgeted as the gazes of the competitors grew even more alert. They had all heard what she had said.

"Now, I must return to my post," Mother Brightly said. "It grows late, but new competitors could arrive even now. A bell will wake you for breakfast tomorrow. A second, an hour later, will call you to the Games."

She turned to go. Suddenly a feeling of fear rose in Lief chest until a gentle hand lay on his shoulder. He felt all the gazes drop and the clanking of dishes could be heard as the competitors hurried to busy themselves.

"Come sit with me." A familiar voice said. Lief spun around and met with the face of Hellaine. Her face was blank, but Lief instantly felt safer.

"Why?" Jasmine asked.

"I have room." Hellaine stated. "I will not protest."

"Thank you." Baroda said, as to not start a fight. Hellaine just nodded and led them to the table. "where are you friends?"

"Mother Brightly failed to mention they were not here. She led me to believe they were."

"Why do they all drop their gazes around you?" Lief asked when they were sitting.

"I believe they are scared, as most strangers are."

"I'm not scared of you!" Jasmine cried.

"I did say most, not all." Hellaine smirked.

"So they are scared of you." Lief said.

"For tonight. Tomorrow, adrenaline and nerves will be running high and fear will not be recognized." Hellaine replied.

"What can you tell us about the Games?" Barda asked.

"You wonder why all of Deltora doesn't come to earn the 100 gold coins?" The trio nodded, hung on her words.

"Some of us don't need weapons to kill?" Barda hissed. "Was that some kind of threat?"

"Two years ago, the final lasted a day and a night. It was a bloody battle. The loser lost his leg. It was smashed to pieces. The two competitors were both strength talents. Neither used weapons, only their fits. The worst part was, Mother Brightly cheered it on. She relishes in the blood and the fight. I don't trust her, and neither should you. She could fool a dragon out of his treasure."

The trio was shocked, but remembered Mother Brightly's warning, and just nodded.

"I am going to my room. Good luck tomorrow."

The trio just nodded and turned their attention to their food.

"What are you doing?" A voice spoke from behind Hellaine as she walked down the hall.

"I was coming to find you." She replied slipping past him into the room. "I thought you said you were room 63, not 54."

"My mistake, what do you have?"

"Your dagger for one." She replied as she flicked her wrist. A basic silver dagger fell into her hands.

"You are truly remarkable." The man smirked.

"Mother Brightly has the third, basic silver dagger, slightly dull."

"We'll sharpen it at the Stronghold. The forth?"

"lower left arm, hidden sheath, spring loaded."

"The fifth?"

"Gave to this kid from Del."

"Why?"

"Personal choice," she replied.

"Fine, then I am going to get some sleep."

"There's more." She said sitting on the bed.

"More?"

"Mother Brightly has taken an interest in the newest three."

"Interest?"

"You heard her at dinner. They are a perfectly balanced team. We will have to see them individually, but the big one seems more then capable. They have a good chance at getting to the finals. I believe she wants them for the arena. She warned them against trusting others, telling them to lock their doors at all times. _We don't want accidents_, she warned them."

"Sounds more like a threat." Her friend replied.

Hellaine nodded in agreement.

"What happened to Thalgus and Petronne?"

"They didn't show up, you know that."

"I'd expect this from Thalgus, but not Petronne."

"I gave them a new assignment. Tried to tell you, but you were too fast."

"What assignment?"

"Same as us. Intel on the Broad River."

Hellaine sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Do you still have your dagger?" The man suddenly asked.

"I do." She replied and pulled the blade from the crook of her back. It was a silver blade with an ornate vine design sketched into the blade that overlapped onto the black leather hilt.

"Keep it with you, but be sure not to use it inside the arena."

"Of course."  
>"Get some sleep, we can talk more at a later date."<p>

She nodded and went to leave the room when her friend stopped.

"One more thing, when you leave this room, we don't know each other anymore."

Hellaine nodded and leaned on the door.  
>"Until this is over." She replied. "I remember."<p>

"Get some sleep, you'll need it."

With a nod, she closed the door behind her and moved into the dark hallway.


	2. Hungry for Blood

**Hellaine: New Companion**

**Part 1: Lapis Lazuli**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not, under any circumstances, own Deltora Quest or any characters from the series.

**Rated: **T

**A/N: **I do own Hellaine and her past.

**Summary: **Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games?

* * *

><p><strong>Hungry for Blood<strong>

* * *

><p>The sun was low in the sky when the eight finalists, the ones who would fight their last battles on the morrow, were announced.<p>

Barda, Jasmine, and Lief were among them. So were Hellaine, Joanna and Orwen. The other two were a short heavily muscled man named Glock, and the Doom.

"A fitting name for such a dark creature," muttered Barda, as Doom stepped forward, unsmiling, and held up his arms to the cheering crowd. "I do not relish the idea of fighting him. Jordan either for that matter."

Lief nodded in agreement. Hellaine knew her way around a fight. But he had thought of something that worried him even more. "I did not expect that we would all be finalists," he whispered. "What if we have to fight each other?"

Jasmine stared at him. "Why, we will decide who is to win, then just pretend to fight," she said. "As, in any case, we must do for all our other bouts tomorrow. We must let our opponents win, and so avoid injury. We are already sure of 100 gold pieces each, because we are finalists. That is all the money we need, and more."

Barda moved restlessly. Plainly, the idea of cheating to lose offended him as much as the idea of cheating to win.

"It would not be honorable..." he began.

"Not _honorable_?" hissed Jasmine. "What has _honor_ to do with this?" she spun around to Lief. "Tell him!" she urged.

Lief hesitated. He was not troubled, as Barda was, by the idea of deceiving the organizers of the Games, or even the crowd. On the streets of Del, honor among friends was all the was requiered, and survival was the only rule. But part of his mind...the part that still simmered with anger over the warning note and the locked door...rebelled against Jasmine's plan.

"Our rival will know, if we do not try to win. It will seem that we are at last bowing to their threats," he said in a low voice, running his fingers over the rough leather hilt at his waist, the dagger Hellaine had given him.

Jasmine snorted in disgust. "You are as foolish as Barda! Will you risk our quest for the sake of your pride? Oh, I have no patience with you!"

She turned her back and stalked away.

That evening the finalists ate together in the dining hall attended by Mother Brightly, smiling and bright in her ruffled red dress. It was a strange meal, for where only the night before the room had been busy and filled with noise, now it was empty and echoing. The defeated comptitors, it seemed, had already been sent away. Lief wondered how they were faring, for many of them were injured and almost all without money.

Jasmine was still angry. She ate little and drank only water.

"The Queen Bee Cider is too rich for me," she muttered. "The thought of it sickens me. The air in the arena stank of it. The people in the seats were drinking it all day."

Barda frowned as Hellaine had just sat down, looking sympathetic. "It should not be sold to them. It is intended for use by fighters, who need massive energy, not for those who simply sit and look on. No wonder they cry for blood."

"Here, Jasmine, try this." Hellaine prompted, handing Jasmine a cup of golden liquid.

"What is it?" Jasmine asked, sniffing it.

"Tea." Hellaine replied. "I don't like the Cider either, so I make this tea instead. I get the same results, and it's not as rich."

"Why should I trust it?" Jasmine asked.

"Do you want me to take the first drink?" Hellaine asked. Jasmine eyed her and nodded. Hellaine picked the cup off the table and sipped the hot liquid. She set the cup back on the table and slid it to Jasmine. "It will help return your strength and help you sleep tonight."

"Sleep?" Jasmine glared.

"It has a calming effect." Hellaine clarified. "At least, its supposed to."

Jasmine hesitated, but finally took the cup in hand and sipped lightly. It was sweet, but not sickly. It was warm and light, and Jasmine felt ten times better when she finished it.

"You make that?" Jasmine asked.

"When I need it." Hellaine nodded, rubbing her arm.

"What happened to your arm?" Lief asked fingering the dagger.

"Got caught in the ring." She shrugged.

"Thank you." Jasmine sighed, handing Hellaine her cup. "For the tea."

"I can make more if you want any."

"Why are you being so nice?" Barda asked. "You're a competitor, against us."

"That doesn't mean I can't help." She replied. "I'm not here to win."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't want the 1000 gold coins. I am happy to get 100."

"Will you still try to win?" Jasmine asked.

"The way I see it. If I win, I will have played a fair game. If I don't, I will still have 100 coins to keep me going."

Just then Mother Brightly rang a small bell.

"One word before you begin retiring to your rooms, my dears," she said, as the finalists turned to her. "I want no tricks or trouble here tonight, so I plan to take your keys and lock your doors myself. I will unlock them in the morning immediately after the waking bell."

There was complete silence in the room. The woman looked around, her plump face very serious. "So sleep soundly and regain your strength," she went on. "Tomorrow you must show no sign of weakness or lack of purpose. The crowd...well, it is always very excited on the final day. Very excited, indeed. It has been known for finalists who do not participate well to be attacked and torn to pieces. I would not like this to happen to any of you."

Lief's stomach seemed to turn over. He did not dare glance at Jasmine or Barda.

"So this was how the Games organizers made sure all the finalists try their best at the last. The crowd is their weapon...the crowd, swarming, acting with one mind, excited to fever pitch and hungry for blood." Hellaine cried in frustration.

"So it would seem."

"We'll have to be more careful." She said pacing the room.

"Much." The man replied. "Go to sleep. We will need our strength tomorrow."

Hellaine nodded and stopped at the center of the room. With a swift stride, she stood in front of the man and hugged him gently.

"When will this all be over?" She wondered aloud.

"I wish I knew." He sighed and enveloped her in a hug.

Lief stepped outside into the cool air and heard a light melody, gentle and sweet from around the corner. He followed the sound and found Hellaine sitting alone, her skin giving off an etheral glow under the light of a full moon. A silver flute pipe sat against her lips, the source of the melody.

"What are you doing out here?" Lief asked sitting next to her on the ground.

"Can't sleep." She replied. "Snuck out the window, you?"

"Nervous for tomorrow. Haven't gone back to my room yet." He replied. "You sound really good."

"Thanks. I've been playing since before you were born." She replied.

"How long?" Lief wondered.

"Long as I can remember." She shrugged.

"Can I hear more?" Lief asked. "It's calming."

Hellaine nodded with a smile and placed the flute back to her lips. The tune she played as soft and gentle, a lullaby. Lief smiled when he head it, remembering it from when his mother would sing it to him as a child.

Lief closed his eyes and hummed along with the pipe.

"You know this lullaby?" Hellaine asked when she finished.

"My mother sang to me when I was little. It was my favorite." He replied.

"My aunt sang to me." Hellaine sighed.

"Do you ever miss your family, being away from them?"

Hellaine shrugged. "What about you?"

"Everyday," he replied. "Hellaine, tell me the truth."

"Okay," she nodded.

"Why are you trying to help me? Why the warnings, the coins, the dagger?"

"I can't tell you yet," she replied.

"What can you tell me?"

"I know your quest. I know what you are trying to do."

"How?"

"I can't answer that, I just know."

"Why are you trying to help me?"

"I want this hell to end. I swear to you right now. I will give you whatever help I can to end this hell."

"Who are you in all this?"

"I can't tell you right now."

"You tell me anything."

"Not if I want to survive to protect you."

"What are you saying?"

"My life is at your feet kid. I'm the best warrior you will have in this fight and my life is yours."

"We hardly know each other." Lief stated.

"Does that bother you?"

"No, you haven't lied to me, that much I know."

"How?" she asked

Lief shrugged, he wasn't really sure.

"You were the one who took our key, weren't you?"

"You have good accuracy kid..."

"Lief."

"What?" she replied.

"My name is Lief, not kid."

"Sorry, hate fake names."

"Me too," Lief agreed.

"So, work on your sword work and you could be worthy of the Jalis."

"Really?"

"You cut my arm deep Lief, that takes skill," she smiled and stood up.

"Something wrong?" Lief asked.

"No, I'm just going to bed. We have more fights ahead of us, and I don't know about you, but I need some sleep tonight."

"Good luck tomorrow." Lief said as she reached the corner.

She turned around and genuinely smiled at Lief. "You too," she nodded.

Lief looked at his card, his heart in his mouth.

The number upon it was 3.

He glanced at Barda and Jasmine and to his relief saw that Barda was holding up number 1 and Jasmine number 4. So, for this round at least, they were not to fight each other. But who were their opponents to be.

He looked around and his heart sank as he saw scar-faced Doom walking towards Barda, holding his card high so that all could see the number 1 upon it. The giant Orwen had drawn the second number 4 and was already standing with Jasmine, who looked like a child beside him. Glock and Joanna had both drawn cards marked 2, meaning their was only one left.

"Are you ready, Joker?" Hellaine asked from behind him. "I won't go easy on you just because your a child."

"I'm sixteen." Lief argued.

She smirked, remembering that fight from the first day. "Joker, if things go bad, get out, I will."  
>"Go bad?"<p>

"I don't want to hurt you, let me land a hit to your chest. I'll push you out of the ring. If I am losing badly, I will do the same."

"You want to throw the fight? Despite what Mother Brightly said yesterday?"

"I don't fear the crowd. Leave in the dead of night, you can beat the crowd." She replied.

"Is that your plan?"

"If I feared these people, that would be my plan."

"Then what is your plan?"

"My business, just as your quest is yours." She replied.

The two sat in silence, facing each other, waiting for the starting bell.

When the clear note of the bell rang clear through the arena, Hellaine jumped right into action. Her foot lashed out and caught him on the point of his chin, knocking him flat on his back.

The crowd laughed and booed.

Lief scrambled to his feet, shaking his head stupidly. He could not see Hellaine at all. With amazing speed she had darted behind him. She kicked the back of his knees just enough for him to stumble forward. In moments she was darting around him, leaping and kicking him lightly. He would have light bruises in the end, but nothing terribly bad. She was obviously going easy on him.

The crowd had begun jeering, chanting his false name, "Joker," and laughing. A wave of anger cleared Lief's head a little. If Hellaine was fast, so was he. He jumped backwards, away from her, so that she was forced to face him. Warily, they circled one another. Then, without warning she sprang forward, catching his around the waist and throwing him to the ground.

He fell and lay gasping, one arm limp and helpless. All Hellaine had to do was finish him. Stop him from raising to his feet, but their eyes connected. They're was the ghost of familiarity about them, as if he knew her.

Hellaine hesitated and Lief took the chance to knock her off him.

Hellaine moved with his kick and moving into a perfectly graceful back flip, her hands briefly touching the arena floor, and coming out without a hit. She sped forward and darted in every direction. Lief lost sight of her and felt a sharp pain in his back.

He staggered, crashed to the sand and went limp. He was done and he knew, if this was her going easy on him, he feared for any opponent she truly wanted dead.

Barda and Doom were still fighting, struggling in a grip that neither would break. They were alone in the arena now. Dimly, Barda was aware that two people had been carried away while Glock, held back by three strong officials, and Hellaine, still raved at them with murderous rage.

"Glock is a madman!" Doom growled. His voice full of loathing.

"And are _we_ not madmen?" panted Barda. "Whichever one of us wins will surely have to fight him. Do you want 1000 gold coins enough for that?"

"Do _you_?" hissed Doom, his dark eyes flashing. "For my own purposes I am condemned to this. But you...surely you are not. We have given a good enough show. If one of us falls now, he is free to go on his way. Think!"

"What if it is you that loses?" hissed Barda.

"Then there is another. A better fighter even then I. But they will not fight alone if I have that choice."

"You work with that madman?"

"Maybe so, but how do you truly know the answer, Berry?"

Barda thought and faltered.

It was the smallest hesitation. One tiny gap in the concentration that had armored him for so long. But it was enough for Doom. A twist, a mighty thrust, and Barda was off balance and staggering.

The other man's fist crashed into his jaw. Barda saw bright pinpoints of light. Then the ground was rushing up to meet him. In seconds he was lying on his face in the sand, dazed, his head spinning, his whole body aching, listening to the crowd howling Doom's name. Through his pain he wondered if Doom had tricked him, or done him a great favor. Had this defeat been because of Doom's wish, or his own?


	3. Another Moment

**Hellaine: New Companion**

**Part 1: Lapis Lazuli**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not, under any circumstances, own Deltora Quest or any characters from the series.

**Rated: **T

**A/N: **I do own Hellaine and her past.

**Summary: **Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games

* * *

><p><strong>Another Moment<strong>

* * *

><p>The passage from the cellar was long, low and dark and smelled sickeningly of cider. Their boots clattered on the stones as they shuffled along single file, Barda bent almost double. They had divided up the remaining gold between them, to make it easier to carry, but it still weighed heavy on their belts. Sore and stiff from their battles that day, the walk was becoming more uncomfortable by the minute.<p>

Lief, however, ignored his discomfort, in lieu of his unease. "We should, perhaps, have stayed at the inn another night and set out in the morning."

"I could not face the thought of another moment in Rithmere." Jasmine stated.

"We have what we came here for," Barda stated. "We ow have enough gold to fund the rest of our journey–and more besides." He paused, then added awkwardly. "You did well, Jasmine."

"Indeed," Lief agreed.

"I did not do well." Jasmine stated matter of factly. "Jordan could have defeated me, but she made me so angry. She wanted me to forget myself–so I could preform for the crowd."

"She tricked herself," said Barda. "For in the end, she lost and you won. Think of that, and forget the rest." He paused and pointed. "I see light ahead. I think we are at last reaching the end of this accursed tunnel."

Jasmine and Barda hurried forward while Lief followed more causiously, all eager to see the sun and stand up straight.

As Mother Brightly had told them, the passage ended in a low door. Light showed dimly through the crack beneath it. Barda drew the bolt and swung the door open. Sunlight filled the the passage, giving Lief the light to see, when his eyes had recovered from the glare, the ruby had dulled to pale pink. He looked up to warn his friends in time to see Jasmine get hit over the head and stuffed into bag. Knowing whoever was out there would come for him if he didn't get out, he turned and ran back through the tunnel. He had to find a way to help his friends, had to learn what had happened to them. He had to get away.

Lief didn't know how long he had run when he reached the cellar, knocking into someone. He fell to the floor and felt his heart beat hard in his chest thinking he'd been caught when a firm hand took hold of his arm and lifted him off the ground.

"What happened? Where are your friends?" The voice was familiar. A wave of relief fell over Lief as he turned into Hellaine's chest. "Lief? What happened?"

"They've been captured. They'll come for me if we don't get out of here."

"Who is coming?"

"I don't know." He stated. He had to get out, had to go after them.

"Come with me Lief, we'll get them back." She promised and pulled him out of the cellar, back to the clean air of the back room.

"What if Mother Brightly is out there?" Lief whispered, no longer able to trust the woman who sent them into the trap.

Hellaine looked over and set a hand on his shoulder as she pressed her ear to the door. "She is in the dining hall, cleaning the food and plates off the table," she stated. "Follow me, quickly."

"Where are we going?" Lief demanded.

"Away from the inn," she replied. "To meet a friend of mine. We are very lucky to have met each otehr down there."

"Why?"

"You are safe, and I have something to report so that this mission will be worth the risk." She replied.

"Who are you?" Lief hissed.

"Outside. I promise to tell you when we meet my friend. You will understand."

Lief nodded, agreeing to her request. She pushed the door open and slipped into the front room. It was empty of everything, people, papers, everything. Hellaine made her way to the front door and motioned for Lief to follow her. He rushed to her side and slipped out behind her.

"Do you have your weapons?" She asked.

"Everything," Lief replied.

"Good, the dagger?"

"Haven't taken it off," her agreed.

"Keep it, my friend is this way, outside the city. I believe whoever has your friends will hide until night fall."

"Hide, until nightfall?"

"Leave the city when no one will see them." She stated. "We are almost there."

"Almost where?" Lief asked as she turned into the woods that lined the road.

"Jordan," a deep voice spoke from above. "Why have you brought this boy with you."

"Friend of that girl champion..."

"Jasmine," Lief stated. "Her name is Jasmine."

"Jasmine then." Hellaine nodded. "He is her friend. The bear and champion were captured. He got away, back through the tunnel. Knocked into me."

"Hellaine said you could help them."

"Hellaine..."

"Yes, I told him my name." She hissed. "Where is my bow?"

"All your things are at the stronghold." The man stated.

"Come down so he can see your face." Hellaine called quietly. A moment later, a soft thump was heard and a man walked out of trees, a man Lief recognized instantly.

"Your friend is Doom?" Lief cried.

"Quiet," Doom hissed. Lief growled at the man and looked to Hellaine, suddenly realizing why she was familiar.

"You were at Tom's Shop." He stated.

"Yes, Doom and I saw you there. I stayed around a while longer than he did, but I was there."

"Resistence," Lief whispered, remembering the signal she'd used. "You are _the_ Hellaine. The one they whisper about in closed circles. The Resistence leader."  
>"Took a while, but you guessed it. My name is very well known, much to my chagrin. My face is not known, so I can hide easily with the name Jordan. My friend here is Doom, another of the Resistance leaders."<p>

"Why are you here?" Lief asked. "Why did you compete."

"I was not supposed to compete, but Mother Brightly had me trapped, compete, or get bared from the Games." Hellaine sighed.

"She got you angry, played off your emotion."

"She has perfected that for many years." Hellaine said.

"What do we do now?" Lief asked. Hellaine looked up and started to climb.

"Now, we wait for nightfall and watch the road for your friends. Then we follow them until they stop to rest. Doom, is Dain coming?"

"Before night, how is your arm?"

"Painful," she replied, pulling Lief into the tree. Doom sighed and climbed into the next tree.

"Do you need medicine for it?"

"You have it all Doom." She reminded him. The man nodded and handed her over a small jar and some bandages.

"How bad is it?" Lief asked.

"You caught me real good Lief," she replied. "But it will heal. What have you told your friends?"

"Nothing from last night." Lief assured her as footsteps approached their location.

"Jordan! Doom!" Someone hissed.

Hellaine looked at Doom and glared. "Dain."

"Hellaine..." Doom began.

"I do not trust him Doom, but I will be pleasant." She promised as Doom jumped down.

Lief leaned back and looked down to the young boy that had joined them. It was the serving boy from the finals, the one that served the drugged cider.

"One of my most potent serums," Hellaine smirked. "That's Dain."

"Why don't you trust him?"

"Don't trust many." She replied. "Only three people in the resistence know my real name."

"Three?"

"Yes, Doom is one, and Dain is not. I have grown to distrust most people."

"Then why me?" Hellaine looked at him and blinked. She took a handful of his shirt and lifted the bttom up enough to show the belt at his waist.

"I'm stupid Lief," she told him. "I've known you had it the whole time."

"You truly are what they say."

"What is that?" she asked.

"Mysterious, cold, perseptive."  
>"My life has been filled with war and darkness." She sighed. "You gain certain traits with a life like mine."<p>

"What about your family?"

Hellaine went absolutely silent.

"We do not talk about Jordan's family," Doom stated from the next tree.

Dain was climbing up beside the man and smiled sympathetically. "I'm Dain, you must be Joker."

"That's me," Lief agreed.

"Nice to meet you, are you joining the resistence."

"He's friends with Birdie." Hellaine told him. "I have told him I would help his friends."

"Your friend is the champion, you must be proud."

"I guess," Lief replied.

"Night is falling," Hellaine said as a cart led by two grey guards came into view. "Everyone get ready."

"_We'd better stop and get the ticks covered up_," one of the two Grey Guards growled. "_Give them some grub and a drink, as well, or they'll be dying on us. Then we'll be in the muck_."

They watched the cart move to the side of the road and come to a stop. Soon, two sacks were being hauled from the cart and dumped roughly onto the ground.

"_Be careful you fool_!" roared the first Grey Guard. "_How many time do you have to be told? Any broken bones Brightly didn't put in her report and we're in the Arena ourselves_!"

The guards set up a rough shelter for their prisoners by stretching oiled cloth between the lowest branches of a tree. The two companions huddled together under the canopy, shuddering with cold.

The raven, who had followed them all the way from Rithmere, was perched on the girl's shoulder, but was unable to help gags were taken off and they were given food and drink.

"Joker, move one muscle without my order, I will cut your throat." Hellaine warned.

Lief nodded, seeing a new strength in his friend. She was already formulating a plan, getting ready for a fight.

"Doom, when I give you the signal, I want you and Dain to get the stolen items off the cart. I don't want anything left behind. Lief, you and I are going for your friends. You will follow my lead and stay silent. I will tell you when it is safe to talk with them."

"I can't ignore them if they try to talk to me," he hissed.

"Whisper, promise to speak when it is safe. Say nothing more than, when it's safe." She replied. "If the guards wake up, finish your task. Do not stay around once you have finished your assignment, get out. Dain, you get the girl's things, Doom, the bear's. I will lead the prisoners and Joker to the meeting spot."

"Anything else?" Doom asked.

Hellaine shook her head and held up her hand.

"Remember to go quickly and quietly, no more sound than is necessary." She whispered. She stared at the camp for a few more seconds and dropped her hand. Doom and Din fell from their tree quietly and raced to the cart where Barda and Jasmine's things would be. Hellaine jumped from their tree, followed quickly by Lief. She raced to Barda's side and slid to the ground.

"Who are you?" Barda demanded as she pulled out her dagger.

"When it is safe," she whispered as Lief fell to his knees behind Jasmine.  
>"Lief!" She grinned. "You're alive!"<p>

"Quiet Jasmine," Lief whispered.

The girl nodded and felt the ropes around her wrists fall to the ground, followed by the ropes at her ankles.

"Quickly, follow me," Hellaine whispered, pulling Barda to his feet.

"Jordan?" Barda hissed in pain.

"Yes, now quickly, into the fields." She whispered and led them away from the cart.

"Our weapons!" Jasmine cried.

"They are safe, my friends have them."

"How is this possible," Barda demanded. "What is going on?"

"Jordan is a friend," Lief promised. "So is Doom."

"Doom?" Barda growled. "That dark and gloomy charecter? How can you trust him?"

"That dark and gloomy charecter happens to be a friend of mine." Hellaine snapped.

"Your friend? What about Glock?"

"What about him?"

"I could have sworn..."

"I heard about what he said to you in your fight," Hellaine said. "He let you believe your conclution to protect his real companion, me."

"What is your real name?" Jasmine demanded. Hellaine looked at Lief. She could trust the wearer of the silver belt, but she was unsure of his friends.

"You can trust them," he promised. "They are loyal friends."

Hellaine nodded and slowed her pace. "I'm sorry Lief, but I can't take that chance."

"What, your name some kind of big secret?"

"Only four people can look upon my face and name me." She replied. "It's kind of a big secret."

"Who could you possibly be to have to hide your name so completely?"

"I have my reasons," Hellaine stated. "And you would do well to respect my silence."

"Are you threatening me?"

"I do not ask you to speak of your silent secrets, and I ask you to let me keep mine."

Jasmine scowled, her trust in Hellaine dwindling to nothing.

"Jordan, there you are!" A voice called.

"Dain, I see you got out without a scratch, where is Doom with the bear's pack?"

"The bear?" Barda asked.

"Yes, you are a bear of a man."

"My name is..."

"Berry, I know," she replied quietly.

"You are tired," a deep voice spoke. "When did you sleep last?"

"You know the answer to that Doom. I told you, I will sleep at the sands."

"Come along you three, you are safe with us." Dain smiled.

"When we get to our stronghold, we will get food and rest a while." Hellaine smiled. Lief saw her force herself to smile, force herself to talk when all she really wanted to do was curl up in a dark corner and disappear.

"This way," Doom said. "Follow me."

The group, battle weary, but alert, walked into the dark of the night.


	4. People do not Trust me

**Hellaine: New Companion**

**Part 1: Lapis Lazuli**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not, under any circumstances, own Deltora Quest or any characters from the series.

**Rated: **T

**A/N: **I do own Hellaine and her past.

**Summary: **Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games?

* * *

><p><strong>People do not Trust me<strong>

* * *

><p>After walking for a short time, the group came to a small cave. In the back, weapons and packs lined the wall, a fire pit sat awaiting them in the center, filled with fresh wood and cooking supplies ready to start a meal.<p>

Hellaine placed a well used kettle over a small fire to start boiling.

"Are you making more of that awful tea?" Dain asked.

"Did I say you had to have any?" she replied adding herbs to the water to steep.

"Will there be enough to share?" Jasmine asked nervously. Hellaine nodded and handed her a cup.

"Anyone else?" the woman asked. Lief raised his hand and gratefully accepted the cup she offered.

"I'll take some as well." Doom said, getting himself a cup. Hellaine nodded and stared at the kettle until a low whistle sounded. She pulled it off the fire and poured out the drink into the four cups.

"Drink up, it will help get you through the night." She said and sipped from her own cup.

"Listen carefully," Doom said as they drank. "We have little time. Jordan and I are the leaders of a group sworn to resist the Shadow Lord."

Hellaine set her cup down and sighed heavily. "We have been suspicious of the Games for some time...certain that they were not as they seemed. Our purpose was to see what was happening, from the inside. I tried to scare you off..."

"You attacked us and locked us in our room!" Jasmine cried.

"Yes...and I got cut in the process." She winced, touching the cloth on her arm gently. "I was trying to stop you from competing...to protect you."

"Why?" Barda asked bluntly.

"When first I saw you in Tom's Shop something about you interested me." Hellaine replied. "Doom and I were hurrying on business of our own and could not stay, but ever since then wherever I have been, I have heard whispers. I knew it was you when I saw you in the lobby of the inn."

Lief gripped Barda's arm. If word about them was spreading, how long would it be before the Shadow Lord became aware of them?

Jasmine, already untrusting of the woman, became wary and cautious.

"You allowed us to be captured," she accused. "You crept away after the finals, but you did not leave. You hid by the inn, watched and did not lift a hand to help us."

"We had intended for either Jordan or me to be proclaimed Champion, and suffer whatever fate was in store for the winner." Doom stated.

"As for you being captured and saved, you should thank your young friend." Hellaine said. "If he hadn't detected the threat and seen you captured, he would have fallen into the same trap and you would be on your way to the Arena."

"What are you saying?" Barda growled. Hellaine looked him in the eye and he faltered.

"We know where champions are taken, we know by who, but the workings of how were a mystery. Who sent them into the trap, were they sent into the trap, or were the captors waiting outside the entrance for them. When your Birdie was announced as the champion, I stayed back a night to snoop around, hoping to find some sort of passage or trap door. What I found instead, was Joker running for his life. If he hadn't run, I wouldn't have been able to get the information I gained from him and know you were in trouble."

"You would have left us to die," Jasmine snapped.

"I would have been able to do nothing without your friend's information." Hellaine replied. "We know where they go and by who, but the road they travel, where the trap is set, we did not have that information. Doom and I planned to try our hand at the next Games. Your friend has saved more than your lives."

Jasmine and Barda lowered the gazes, feeling the realization like ice. Because Jasmine had won, Hellaine had almost lost more lives, because Lief got away, she gained what she needed to save their lives and the lives of her friends and future champions.

Doom spoke up, releasing the thick silence in the cave.. "A group is waiting not far away. Dain will lead you there and then into the mountains..."

"If you wish for safe passage away from here." Hellaine cut him off. "Though I feel, you will want to be on your way."

Barda, Lief and Jasmine glanced at one another.

"We are grateful to you," said Barda at last. "And I hope you will not take this amiss, but I fear Jordan is right, we must be on our way. There is...something of importance we must do."

Doom frowned. "Whatever it is, you should abandon it for now," he said. "I could not risk killing the guards. It was dangerous enough stealing you things from the cart while they slept below."

"You were in no danger," Hellaine stated. "You know I picked the moment well."

"That doesn't matter, their master will come after them regardless. When they wake and find them gone they will track them wherever they go. They will not rest until they are found, Jordan. You know this better than any of us." Doom snapped. Hellaine stared hatefully at the man.

"You go too far," she hissed. "Reminding me of that."

"All the better, then, that we do not lead them to your stronghold," said Barda calmly. He put on his sword and pack and began crawling from the cave. Doom put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"We are many, and at our base we have ways of dealing with guards," he said. "You should join us. What could be more important then our cause? What is this mysterious mission that cannot wait?"

Barda went to remove Doom's hand, but found Hellaine already doing it.

"Doom, they are not our members. You must learn that sometimes, you don't know the answers."

"And you do?" Doom snarled.

"You know I do," she replied. She wasn't smug, she jut knew.

"Fine, if you know the answers, where are they going?" Doom demanded.

"That is not my knowledge to share," she spoke. "I will show you the way out of the woods."

"We'll be fine on our own." Jasmine snapped.

"The Grey Guards will be after you now. You can get lost in these woods."

"Thank you," said Barda. "We appreciate your risk."

"All will be well," Hellaine nodded gathering her weapons. She filled a pack with food, money and various other supplies she would need for a journey.

"Where are you going?" Lief asked.

"Doom will stay here and wait for Glock," she said as they left the cave. "I will return to Rithmere, continue my research from there."

"Research?" Barda asked. "Alone?"

"I do not trust people, people do not trust me, it works out for the majority."

"Why is that?" Jasmine asked. "Why don't people trust you."

"I have my reasons." Hellaine told her. Lief saw her eyes flash with anger and guilt, but her voice stayed flat, cold, detached. She controlled her emotions, giving off ice."

"Jordan, can we stop a minute?" Lief asked. "I need to talk to my friends more we move on."

Hellaine nodded and moved into the woods. Lief waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps before turning to his friends.

"I want to ask Jordan to join us," he stated.

"Are you mad?" Jasmine cried in alarm. "How can you trust her?"

"She has done nothing but help us, when she could have left us to die. I talked to her during the Games, the night I was late getting back to the room. I trust her, and I think we need her. I think we were meant to find her."

Barda wasn't convinced, Jasmine was in an uproar.

"Barda, we met Jasmine by chance, but I wonder if it was chance. We need what Jasmine brings to us, we wouldn't have gotten this far without her. What if it is the same with Jordan. What happens if we let her leave and we find ourselves in need of her skills, her knowledge and connections?"

"Why do you trust her?"

"She knows about the belt." Lief said. "She knows I have the belt, and she didn't try to kill me in the ring. She has done nothing but protect the belt since I met her."

"What happens when the heir has the belt? Will she still be your friend?"

"The belt is what made me see Lief. It is not the belt that drives me now." Hellaine spoke from the trees.

"Jordan, what did you hear?" Lief asked.

"Only your friend's comment, do you need more time, I can continue my research elsewhere."

"Just a few minutes." Lief agreed. Hellaine nodded and waked away again.

"Lief, you have a point, she has knowledge and connections we could use and she already knows about the belt."

"Exactly," Lief said.

"What if she is waiting to kill him?" Jasmine demanded. "What if this is what she wants?"

"Why?" Lief asked. "It would have been safer to kill me in the ring."

"How can you say that?"

"Because it is true, Jasmine." Barda said. "If she killed him in the ring, we would have written it off as part of the Games. We would hate her, but not think her as a Shadow Lord puppet. We see her as greedy and heartless."

"And the cellar, she could have captured me, given me to the grey guards, or killed me right there, but she brought me to Doom and helped me save you both."

"I think Lief has a good idea Jasmine. I want to let Jordan join us if she will."

"Then you are fools." Jasmine snapped. "Fine, ask her to join us, ask for her help, but I refuse to trust her."

"Will you try to be pleasant at the very least?" Lief asked.

Jasmine scowled, but agreed. Lief grinned and went off to find Hellaine. He found her only a few yards away with a pile of arrowheads in front of her.

"Fixing my arrows." She told him when she aw him staring.

"Um, we are ready if you are."

"I will be right there." She promised and collected the finished arrowheads in a leather pouch. Lief led her back to the clearing and watched Barda smile at her. Hellaine rose an eyebrow, trying to understand the change of heart in the man.

"Lief has spoken to us," Barda began. "The points he made are very good ones and I agree with his request."

"I have a feeling this involves me," she said. "What was his request?"

"We could use your help." Lief said. "You have knowledge and connections we don't and you can hold your own against Glock."

Something flashed in her eyes, an emotion Lief couldn't place, almost sadness, grief.

"I see," she said.

"We would like you to join us, help us complete the belt." Barda said.

"Why?" She asked. "How do you know I won't kill you in your sleep and take the belt?"

"You've had plenty of chances to kill us," Lief said. "Yet you protected us."

"Will you join us?" Barda asked.  
>"Are you sure about this?"<p>

"Lief trusts you, I trust Lief." Barda said.

"And you, Jasmine?" Hellaine asked.

"My opinion doesn't matter. I do not trust you, but Lief and Barda think we need you."

Hellaine gripped her bag nervously and sighed.

"You seek the gem dropped in the center of the shifting sands sixteen years ago," she said, gritting her teeth. "I will take you there."

Lief and Barda broke into grins and welcomed her.

"We shouldn't stay in one place too long, follow me, quickly." Hellaine said and began walking.

"Where are we going?" Lief asked as the cover of trees broke.

"Up the rocks," she replied following the mountain around. It was only a few yards before a narrow trail jutted from the mountain.

"This trail is well hidden. Looks like part of the mountain if you don't know what to look for. Face your body towards the mountain and shuffle up the trail, keeping a strong hold on the rocks." She instructed. "There have been falls from the trail, but only by those who do not heed my warning."

"Have you fallen?" Lief asked.

"Until I found out how it worked." Hellaine agreed and began shuffling up the trail as she had told them to do. Lief followed second, placing his hands on the rough stone. Jasmine went third with Barda right behind. The trail was long, but seemed to grow wider as they progressed upwards. Half way up, the trail grew wide enough to walk single file. Hellaine led them straight to a flat plain of rocks. In the side of the mountain, in a hidden alcove, the group found a small wooden cabin.

The companions followed Hellaine cautiously into the cottage and found it was empty, fully stocked with food, water and medicine.

"Wow," Jasmine whispered when she saw the inside.

"I'll get some soup going and then we can get you patched up."

"If you show me the medicine, I can be of some help." Jasmine said.

Hellaine nodded and moved into the kitchen. "Medicine is in this cupboard."

Jasmine followed her hand and shuffled through the cupboard, finding the necessary supplies. The two worked in silence. Hellaine placed a pot over a small fire and began making a thick soup of meat and vegetables. The smell was intoxicating and stomachs quickly began to rumble. Jasmine kept watch over Hellaine as she worked. The woman never smiled and her eyes could be seen drooping in exhaustion she hadn't shone when traveling.

"Jordan," Jasmine spoke gently. "I finished Barda and Lief, would you like me to..."

"I'm fine." Hellaine replied. Her tone sounded calm, not tired at all.

_She is so closed off from us_, Jasmine thought to herself watching Hellaine. _She acts as if nothing is wrong_.

"Your arm..."

"It is healing." Hellaine promised. "Nothing a good night rest won't help."

"You sure?"

"Save it for when we really need it," she told Jasmine. "There are plenty of supplies here."

"I was wondering about that, how did you know about this place and are you sure it's ok to use these supplies."

"This is where I have been staying while I researched the Shifting Sands. I bought these supplies in town last week."

"It is a good thing you did," Lief said from across the room.

"Yes, indeed." Barda agreed.

"Soup is almost done." Hellaine said. "We can eat and get some sleep."

"I think you need it more than any of us," Barda said.

"I will sleep tonight." She agreed as she spooned soup into four bowls. She handed one to each of the companions and opened a drawer in the dresser across the room. The trio watched her pull a stack of papers and bring them to the table.

"What is that?"

"My research." She replied. "This is everything for the Forest of Silence, the Lake of Tears, the abandoned city of Noradz, and the Shifting Sands. The Sands are not complete, even after a year there are holes."

"May look at what you have?" Lief asked.

Hellaine nodded and finished her food.

"Take your time, please be careful and when you are done, just leave it here. I will take care of it in the morning."

With those last words, Hellaine stood up and went to find a place to sleep.


	5. Jordan

**Hellaine: New Companion**

**Part 1: Lapis Lazuli**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not, under any circumstances, own Deltora Quest or any characters from the series.

**Rated: **T

**A/N: **I do own Hellaine and her past.

**Summary: **Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games?

* * *

><p><strong>Jordan<strong>

* * *

><p>Hellaine woke the companions up at dawn the next morning and started breakfast as Jasmine checked over their wounds. Barda and Lief, having nothing else to do, looked at the various items around the cottage. It was Hellaine's own sword that caught their attention the longest. The leather of the sheath and grip was a soft dark red leather that fitted to their hands when they held it. The cross guard and pommel of the hilt were antique gold with a Celtic knot engraved into the bronze of the pommel on both sides. The sheath was locket and chape of the sheath matched the hilt, with the Celtic knot gently etched into the locket. The blade itself was pristine silver, freshly sharpened. Words were engraved in the metal in a language neither of the men recognized.<p>

"Jordan, what does it say on your sword?" Lief asked.

Hellaine took the blade from the sheath and smiled as she read the words. "Life without love is no life at all. It was a favorite saying of my aunt's."

"You have a beautiful blade," Barda commented as she replaced the blade. "Who is the smith?"

"I made it myself many years ago."

"You made it?" Lief asked. "Your father let you make your own sword?"

"He was there to supervise and help me when I could complete a step, but I was the smith who created this sword for myself. I etched the words into my sword, engraved the Celtic knots into the bronze. My father created my sheath for me."

"You really care about your father." Lief noticed.  
>"I did, once upon a time," she sighed.<p>

"What do you mean?"

"I haven't seen my father in years." She replied.

"Oh," Barda replied. "Was it the war?"

"Yeah, it is always the war." She sighed.

"What is the language you used on your sword?" Jasmine wondered, running her fingers over the engravings.  
>"An ancient language my aunt made me study." Hellaine replied.<p>

"Did you make your bow and quiver too?" Lief asked.

"No, those my father gave me. I fashioned my sword in their image."

"Where did you get the leather? It is high end leather."

"Toran territory when I was younger."

"How old are you?" Lief asked.

"I am twenty-eight." She replied serving their breakfast out.

"Jordan, do you want your knife back?" Lief suddenly asked, remembering the dagger at his back.

"Yeah, thanks." She replied taking the dagger, a small version of her sword.

"Did you make that too?" Lief asked.

"No, my father made this, a match to my sword." She replied. "Thank you for taking such good care of it."

Lief nodded, truly understanding the trust she had in this quest.

The group ate breakfast in silence. Hellaine finished first and began to clean the cabin as the other finished.

"Why are you cleaning?" Jasmine asked. "The cabin is already spotless."

"Just a few last minute things." She replied as the trip finished eating.

"Anything we can do?" Lief asked.

"No, I just finished." She said. "Ready to go?"

They all nodded, strapped their weapons on and shouldered their packs.

Hellaine led the companions across the longwide ledges of the mountain around the Shifting Sands. If they looked down they would either see the vast woods of the land around Rithmere or they would see the forbidding dunes of the Shifting Sands. Neither was more pleasant than the other. Both promised danger and risk, but only one had something they needed, making their choice easy.

All too soon, they came upon the entrance to the sands. Hellaine stopped them at the weathered stone that stood before the trail down into the dunes.

"This is the entrance." Hellaine stated, running her hand along the letters etched on the stone. "I warn you. The Sands are dangerous, it kills and destroys. It knows only prize, food, enemy. It is this which makes it most dangerous, for it does not live, so it does not feel."

The companions shivered at the words. She spoke of something alive, no matter the words.

"How do you know what is says?" Lief asked looking at the stone.

_TH S I TI G SA S  
><em>_DA GLR!  
><em>_Dea h sw ms wi in its roc y wall  
><em>_w ere all a e one, o e will ules ll  
><em>_be ow th de d the liv ng strive  
><em>_with mindle s will to s v ive_

"I don't know the exact wording, but it says something along the lines of 'The Shifting Sands. Danger!' The smaller writing is little more tricky, is there a sketch in my notes?" She asked Jasmine.

"Right here, there are letters filled in," Lief said handing Hellaine the paper.

"Death swarms within its rocky wall," Barda began. "Where all are one, one will rules all."

Lief followed Barda's thoughts and shook his head in defeat. "The last two lines are more worn than the others. They seem to say something like 'Be now the dead...'"

"Below," Hellaine corrected. "'Below the dead, the living strive."

"What about the last line?' Jasmine asked.  
>"I never worked it out. I worked out 'With mindless will to...' but then I couldn't make out the last words."<p>

"How about survive?" Lief suggested. "With mindless will to survive."

"No, if you look closely, the letters worn away are more than one word." Hellaine sighed.

"Whatever it says, we know that the Shifting Sands are not going to be pleasant," said Barda dryly. "But we knew that, I think."

"The Sands are not for the weak," Hellaine told them. "Even I only ventured so far in. I have never gotten far enough away that I lost sight of the rocks. There is a whole lot of land I haven't covered, land I have never seen."

"Are we ready?" Lief asked nervously.

"If we stay here much longer, we might as well put up a sign telling those grey guards where we are," Hellaine said. "Come on, I'll lead."

The companions let Hellaine through, glad to have her go first down the rocky wall. No one looked down as they scaled the wall. No one wanted to see the sand coming up to meet their feet. It seemed like days before they heard the light thump that signaled Hellaine had reached the ground and that soon, they would too.

Lief was the first to hit the ground. His feet sunk into the sand, but a gentle pull brought the sand falling from his boots. He took a deep breath and turned around.

Sand. Nothing at all but deep, dry sand. As far as the eye could see, high red dunes rolled away under a low, brooding ceiling of murky yellow cloud. There was no sign of any living thing, but a low droning sound filled the place, as though the very air was alive.

Two more thumps signaled that jasmine and Barda has reached the ground, two gasps in unison told Lief they too had turned around.

A feeling of dread settled over Lief – a feeling as strong and real as any taste or smell.

_I have been here before_.

This was the place he had seen in his vision of the future the opal had given him on the Plain of the Rats. A vision of sandy wastes, of lowering, clouded skies. He had seen himself, alone, among rippling dunes that had no ending, a voice, unfamiliar until now, breaking through the steady droning. He'd felt terror lurking, unseen, as he did now, looking over the sands. The terror that had haunted his dreams was about to become reality. When? In an hour? A day? A week?

Through his fear, he heard the voice from his vision. "Hold tight to your valuables. I have lost items here before. Arrows, coins and little things." Hellaine warned everyone securing her weapons. She removed her bag and placed all her daggers and small bags inside where they would be secure.

"It is impossible," Jasmine said as she secured her own purse. "If the gm is hidden here, we will never find it."

"The belt will grow warm when the gem is near," Barda reminded her.

"Well that is convenient." Hellaine commented.

"We will mark the sand into sections and search it, section by section."

"Too long," Hellaine said.

"This gem is like the others. It has a terrible Guardian," Lief said, trying to keep his voice steady. "And the Guardian is already aware of us. I feel it."

"I believe if move to the center, you will find what we seek." Hellaine said. "All my research indicates, something lives there in the center.

Lief began to climb the first dune. His feet sank deeply into the rippled sand, making every step and effort. Hellaine followed him quietly, holding tight to her pack.  
>"Lief!" Jasmine cried. "Her voice penetrated the silence, but he did not stop.<p>

"We have to keep moving," Hellaine said. "The guards will be on our tails, even here."

"The Guardian is very near," Lief said. "We will not have to search for it. It will find us."

In a very short time they were surrounded by high dunes and had lost sight of the rocks, but their trail showed clearly behind them, so they were not afraid of becoming lost.

They had discovered the dune were not as devoid of life as they had first thought. Red flies crawled from the sand as they passed and flew up to settle on their hands, faces, arms and necks, biting and stinging.

Hellaine soon got fed up with the flies and pulled out an cream that soothed the itchy stings and drove off the rest of the flies. Driving the flies right to the blue-tongued, scarlet lizards thatwriggled out of unseen holes, relying on the red flies.

"But what eats the lizards?" asked Jasmine, and drew her dagger.

"You would do best to put that away," Hellaine said. "The creatures that you must truly fear here will not be felled by your little knife."

Shortly after, they passed a strange object lying on the sand. It was round, leathery, flat and wrinkled – like an empty bag or a gigantic, flattened grape that had been split along one side.

"Is it some sort of seed pod?" Barda wondered.

"Like no seed pod _I_ have ever seen," Jasmine muttered. Filli chattered nervously into her ear and Kree, riding on her shoulder, made a worried clucking sound.

Lief's scalp was prickling. He was haunted by the feeling that they were being watched. Hellaine ran her fingers through her hair nervously as they moved slowly. Nothing moved but the flies and lizards, there was no sound but the low, faint droning, but Hellaine knew there was something out there, something waiting for them to slip up.  
>"We need to keep moving," she said, her fingers drumming a strange rhythm against her leg. The beat was nervous, but there was a distinct calming effect about it, like the sound of rain hitting a canvas.<p>

They reached the bottom of one dune, and had just begun to climb another when jasmine, who was now in the lead, stiffened and held up her hand. Hellaine had already stopped, her sword in her hand. Barda and Lief placed their hands to their swords and waited.

At first they heard nothing, then, floating on the still air, there was a voice, growing louder by the moment.

"Carn 2! Never mind the flies. Keep moving!"

Lief looked frantically behind him. Their trail showed clearly in the sand. Their footprints were like arrows, pointing to their position. There was nowhere to hide, no escape.

Hellaine slid her sword back into its sheath soundlessly. Motioning for the companions to stay quiet and follow her lead, Hellaine began to step backwards, carefully fitting her feet into her footprints. When she reached the bottom of the dune, she leaped to the side to lie motionlessly in the faint shadow, burrowing into the sand.

The others followed her every move. When they were all huddled together, Lief covered them with his cloak which quickly blended with the sand.

They waited, still as stone.

The guards appeared, struggling in their heavy ran down the side of their dune, and began following the tracks up the next.

Then they stopped, puzzled, as halfway up the sune, the footsteps just seemed to end.

"They have been taken!" growled Carn 2. "As I told you they would be, Carn 8. I told you it was needless to follow them into the Shifting Sands. We are putting ourselves in danger for – "

"Be silent!" snapped his companion. "Do you not understand, you fool? We have disgraced the Carn pod. We let a Champion and three finalists escape! We had the Ghost within our grasp!"

"We did not have Hellaine in our hands. We would have apprehended her sooner."

"Mother Brightly wasn't sure it was her until the second night, when she heard the woman and that blond boy talking in the back."

Hellaine went rigid, they knew who she was, knew her face.

"That Champion was not Hellaine," Carn 2 stated. "She was too young, too small."

"Not the Champion, the woman that threw the final fight. Mother Brightly called her Jordan."

Hellaine felt Barda and Jasmine's surprise, felt her heart race in fear.

"We walked by her, we watched her leave," Carn 2 hissed. "We could have taken her."

"Do you get it now? Our lives are worth nothing – less than nothing – unless we get them back, unless we get _her_ back! They may not have been taken. They could have buried themselves in the sand. Dig! Dig!"

He began to burrow in the sand with both hands. Grumbling, Carn 2 crouched to join him.

Then, suddenly, the dune seemed to erupt beneath them and, with shocking speed, a huge, hideous creature sprang from the collapsing sand and seized them, lifting them off their feet.

The guards shrieked in terror. Paralyzed with shock, hardly able to believe their eyes, Lief, Barda and Jasmine lay rigid as Hellaine buried her face in her arms. The monster had been perfectly hidden in the dune, waiting. One more step and they, not the guards, would have been its prey.

Lief stared in facinated horror. The creature was the Sand Beast Hellaine had drawn in her notes. The creature was eight-legged with a tiny head that seemed to be covered in mirrored eyes. Dozens of leathery bags like the one they had found lying in the sand hung from its body. Sand still poured from its joints and crevices. It reguarded its captives without curiosity as they strugged and swung in its terrifying grip. The it opened its mouth, leaned forward . . .

It all happened in seconds. Sickened by what they had seen, the group remained huddled under the cloak, not daring to move.

Lief buried his face in his arms. He had no love for Grey Guards, but he could not watch.

The lowering yellow cloud blotted out the sun so completely that lief loast all sense of time. For what seemed like hours, he, Barda, Jasmine and Helaine lay motionless while the creature ate its fill and slowly the bags hanging from its body swelled until they looked like gigantic grapes hanging from a stalk.

"They are stomachs!" breathed Barda in disgust. Lief shuddered, and even Jasmine, familiar with so many weird creatures of the Forest of Silence, wrinkled her nose with distaste. Hellaine was detatched from the situation, relief running off her in waves. The guards were dead, her secret safe from the Shadow Lord.

A long time later, the creature disappeared over the dunes, leaving the companions in silence. Hellaine was the first to wriggle free of Liefs cloak, her heart pounding in her chest with the realization that Lief's friends knew her secret.

"Jordan, what is your name?" Jasmine demanded. "Were they talking about you?"

"You know the answer." Hellaine replied.

"I want to hear you say it," Jasmine snapped. "What is your name?"

"My name is Hellaine," she replied.

Barda went silent, knowing who stood before him.

"The ghost," he whispered in awe.

"The ghost?" Jasmine hissed. "They called you that too. Who are you?"

"The leader of the resistance." Barda stated, staring upon her face. "You are the one they whisper about."

Hellaine nodded. She knew who she was, knew her reputation.

"What?" Jasmine cried. "If you are the leader of the resistance, why risk your life in the Games."

"Because Doom and I do not expect our soldiers to do all the work. This assignment could only be trusted to us, the strongest in the resistance."

"You sound conceited." Jasmine snapped.

"In this world, a resistance leader would have to be the strongest, or their soldiers would not follow them. I know my own strength, that is all."

"Is it true what they say?" Barda asked.  
>"What do they say?" Hellaine replied.<p>

"Are you really a genius?"

"I've been called such," she agreed. "However, only you can answer that question."

"How do we answer a question we asked you?" Jasmine demanded.

"Some will say I am completely stupid, others, I am a raving genius and others still, that I am certifiably insane. So you see, the question of my intelligence, is in the eye of the beholder."

"You had good reason to hide your name from us." Barda said.

"I trusted Lief because he held the belt. I was careless, telling him when I did. Mother Brightly overheard us and if the guards had realized who I was the day of the finals, I would not be here today. Even now, I am not fully healed."

"You went into the Games not at your full strength?" Barda gasped.

"No, I went in strong, but old injuries were caught in the skirmishes of the first round. I went into the finals weak. I threw the fight, as it was my plan. It was supposed to be me and Doom in the final fight. Doom was supposed to be the champion. Doom was supposed to get taken."

"You threw our fight?" Jasmine cried.

"Yes." Hellaine said. "I cannot get caught."

"Why?"

Hellaine stayed silent, trying to hide her fear as her hands shook.

"What makes you so special that you can't get captured? Why is your life worth more than Doom's?"

Hellaine felt her heart race, her breathing shallow. She closed her eyes and gripped her arms tight to stop the shaking, stop her fear.

"Jasmine, enough." Barda sighed. "Let her keep her secrets. Some things, are better left unsaid."

"Let's continue," Lief said and moved up the dune to the scattered remains of the guards. Beating aay the scavengers, Jasmine began rapidly sorting through therags, putting aside in one small pile things that would be of use: the guards' slings and blisters, their clubs and water bottles, the money bags. After a moment she looked up, startled.

"The money bags burst as they fell," she called in a low voice. "Most of the coins spilled out, but they are gone! So is my medallion!"

"That is impossible!" Barda strode towards her and began searching. Hellaine was already on her knees, searching through the sand. Lief followed more slowly. His attention had been caught by a flat patch of sand jut beyond where his friends were crouching. What he saw there made his flesh creep.

"The creature was blocking our view for hours as it fed," Hellaine sighed, sitting back.

"Something, or someone crawled in unseen and took – "

"Look!" Lief's voice sounded chocked, even to himself. He cleared his throat and pointed.

The smooth patch of sand was covered with hundreds of strange, circular marks. Marks that had not been there before.


	6. Just in Time

**Hellaine: New Companion**

**Part 1: Lapis Lazuli**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not, under any circumstances, own Deltora Quest or any characters from the series.

**Rated: **T

**A/N: **I do own Hellaine and her past.

**Summary: **Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games?

* * *

><p><strong>Just in Time<strong>

* * *

><p>Jasmine stared. "I have never seen tracks like these," she finally said. "What creature would have made them?"<p>

"We cannot know," Lief said flatly. "But whatever it is it is something that doesn't fear the sand beat and something that likes gold. Perhaps it likes gems too. Perhaps its the guardian."

"Surely the sand beast is the guardian!" Barda exclaimed.

Hellaine shook her head. "The beast is just one of the creatures of the sand. I have seen trespassers get hunted less than a mile from the wall. Half a year ago, a small group of five travelers got lost in these sands. Found the wall, but three beasts were upon them in seconds. "

"That is why you were able to cover your eyes."

"I was able to cover my eyes because I have seen far worse." She replied.

Barda cursed loudly, earning a smirk from Hellaine.

"Never thought a guard would curse."

Barda stopped in his tracks.

"I never said I was a guard."

"You wear the uniform of a Deltoran guard." She said pulling out a gold coin. She crouched beside the tracks and placed the coin to match the circle. "As I thought."

"What have you learned?" Lief asked.

"The tracks are not from any creature. It matches the gold coin perfectly."

The low, droning sound drummed in Lief's ears. He tried to concentrate on the rhythm of Hellaine's fingers on her hip as she inspected the circles. She was talking to Barda and Jasmine, but her voice was drowned out by the constant droning. He stared at the circles on the sand as Hellaine sat back, looking at a perfect sketch of the imprints. The circles seemed to mock him. He tried to look away, but his eyes kept being drawn back to them. He forced his gaze up to the sky – but there was no relief there. The unchanging roof of cloud seemed to press down on him, closed in as he was by faceless dunes and all the fear plucked at him like the flies which had returned in force.

Suddenyl he couldn't stand it any longer. With a muffled cry he leaped upon the imprints and kicked at them, destroying them, digging his heels deeply into the soft sand and scattering it everywhere.  
>"Lief! Stop!" he heard Hellaine cry out, but he was past listening. He shouted and fell to the ground, beating and tearing at it. Barda and Jasmine ran to him and tried to pull him to his feet, but he fought them off. Hellaine broke their hold and pulled his arms behind, locking them in place with one arm while using her other arm to get him into a tight choke hold, effectively holding him.<p>

There was a soft shifting and a low rumbling as Hellaine pulled Lief to his feet. Then the earth began to move. Lief heard Barda and Jasmine cry out. Just in time, Hellaine was able to grab Lief by the waist with both arms and swing him so he could catch them. Huge columns of sand began to thrust upwards around them. Hellaine threw them all to the ground and held them tight to the ground. Lief could hear Jasmine screaming for Kree and the bird's answering screech. He could hear his own voice too, groaning in fear. Hellaine was the only one not showing fear, the only one who kept a firm grasp on all of them.

_There is something here_.

Lief knew it. He couldn't see anything, for his eyes were closed against the stinging sand, but there was a terrible rage filled presence all around him.

And he knew what it was. It was the thing that had been drawing him on. The thing that was hungry for it sensed he could give it.

_It wants the belt...It will not rest until it has..._

Then, suddenly, he felt the power withdraw and immediately, as quickly as it had begun, the storm ceased and the ground quieted.

He lay still, dizzy and panting, as the last of the flying sand fell around him like rain.

With a rush of wings, Kree landed on Jasmine's arm. He was unharmed, though powdered all over with red dust. He begand ruffling and preening his feathers, trying to clean himself off. Filli chattered excitedly in Jasmine's jacket. She murmured to him, calming him.

"Is everyone alright?" Hellaine asked, breathless. She brushed sand off her tunic and breathed deeply, calming her beating heart. Lief saw the fear in her eyes as plain as he felt his own. She'd felt that power, she'd felt the rage.

"An earthquake," Barda mumbled. "So – that is why this place is called the sShifting Sands. We should have realized..."

"It was not an ordinary earthquake!" Jasmine snapped.

"No, it was not an earthquake at all. If you must call it anything, it was a sand storm a common occurrence here, but that wasn't created by the winds. It cannot be chance that it began when Lief was kicking those marks away." Hellaine told them. "It was as if the Sands were waiting for you to kick them away, as if they somehow used the belt against you."

Lief could not answer. He was staring blankly around him.

Everything had changed. Dunes had collapsed and formed again in new places, and great valleys had opened where jills had been before. All tracks and signs that had previously marred the sand, were gone. The ruined dune, the place where the guards had died – both had disappeared.

They as well have been dropped from the sky into a part of the Sands they had never seen before. Only the low droning was the same.

"Lief will not speak to me!" he heard Jasmine say to Barda in a frightened voice. She sounded so far away.

"You must not despair Jasmine," Hellaine told her gently.

"Oh what do you know? It's not like you actually have friends to care about."

"You don't know anything about me, Jasmine." Hellaine stated and walked away.

"Jasmine, she has just as much right to care about Lief as we do."

"Why? She just met him three days ago."

"She has as much riding on this quest as the rest of us."

"She doesn't know Lief, she doesn't know us. She has no right to care."

"I promised to protect him." Hellaine stated. "I have given him my loyalty, my life. I am a soldier, a warrior, I have laid down my life at his feet, it is his now."

"You did that?" Barda asked. "Why would you do that?"

"Because you don't need to know someone to care about them. I have cared about what happens to Lief since I saw you Tom's shop. There is no reason I can explain, but I care and I will protect him."

"Were you serious?" Barda asked. "Have you laid your life at his feet?"

"Yes. "I'm the best warrior he will have in this fight. My life is his."

Barda nodded, looking on the woman with new admiration. Her words, the ferocity in which she defended them, made Barda respect her.

"I am proud to have you protecting him and I believe his father would be glad to know he has such a skilled warrior willing to give her life to his son."

Hellaine took the hand he offered, but refused to meet their eyes.

The sun was still blanketed by the clouds above. Lief could not tell which way was east and which was west. He had been spun and tackled so many times that he had no idea from which direction he had come.

_So, this is the beginning_.

Hs glazed eyes fell on a mark in the sand, quite close to where he'd been lying. His throat seemed to close as he stared at it, and under stood its meaning.

Lief felt Barda take him by the shoulder and shake him. He licked his lips and forced himself to speak. "Don't worry. I'm alright," he rasped.

"Drink this," Hellaine smiled gently. "You sound as though you swallowed sand."

Lief accepted his water skin from her and sipped the sweet water from the spring she had shown them the night before.

"You don't seem alright," Barda growled when Hellaine sipped from her own water skin. "You are acting as though you have lost your wits."

"It is Hellaine who has lost something," Lief muttered. "She lost her dagger – the dagger with the carved diamond in the hilt.

Hellaine looked up in surprise and pat her hip furiously, searching for something. Her eyes grew wide when she found the usual bulk was gone.

"Did you find it?" she asked nervously, looking on the sand for any sign it was still around. "It was a gift, and I can't have lost it."

"So it is as I feared." Lief pointed to the drawing on the ground. Barda and Jasmine gasped, while Hellaine sunk to the ground. "That was...my father's...his favorite dagger."

"What sort of creature is this?" Barda demanded. "Why does it leave marks to show what it has taken."

"To taunt you, to drive the knife further into you heart. It is the guardian, it is evil, meant to hurt you, to drive you away from the treasure it hides."

"You talk as if you know this thing," Jasmine hissed.

Lief shook his head. "It is beyond knowing." The verse they had seen at the cross roads kept running through his mind.

_Death swarms within its rocky wall_

_Where all are one, one will rules all._

_Below the dead, the living strive_

_with mindless will to..._

The missing words bothered him. Hellaine was right to say it was not survive as they had first thought, the space not accommodating so few letters, but two words he was sure about.

_Mindless will_.

A thing of mindless will ruled the Shifting Sands and all that was precious in the fearsome place it gathered to itself. The creatures who shared its domain could have the flesh of their victims. The guardian wanted only the treasure the victims carried.

For the first time since entering the sands, Lief touched the belt under his shirt, checking the fastening was secure. As he did, his fingers brushed the topaz, and suddenly his mind cleared.

It was as though a dusty veil had been ripped from a window, allowing light and air to enter. Somehow he knew that the flash would not last long. There was another power at work here, and it was ancient and terrible.

He whirled around to Barda. "We must move on," he said urgently. "Light is fading, and the place we seek is far from ehre, for the belt is not yet warm. I want you to fasten us together so that we cannot be separated. I must be in the middle, tied very tightly. Put Hellaine in the front so she can navigate. Jasmine between you and me."

Grim;y, Barda did as he asked, using the rope they had bought from Mother Brightly. It was light, but very strong. Hellaine tested it, and nodded.

"Do not release me, whatever I say," he muttered.

His companions nodded, asking no questions.

They drank a little water, then set off, weapons drawn, linked together by their lifeline, as darkness slowly fell.

Thenight brought no moon, no stars. The cloud hung over them black and cold. They had lit a torch so hellaine could see only five feet before her, and they jumped at every shadow. For a long time, Barda and Jasmine wanted to stop, but Lief urged them on. Hellaine stayed silent, never speaking a word, allowing Lief to decide the pace. At last, however, the two refused to listen and made Hellaine stop.

"We cannot go on like this Lief," Barda said firmly. "We must eat, and rest. Hellaine looks dead on her feet.

Lief shook his head, swaying on his feet. All he wanted to do was lie down, yet somehow he wnew that if he slept he would be in danger.

"Lief, you must sleep." Hellaine said. "You are swaying, I still have some of that soup. We could heat it up and share it around."

"Sounds wonderful." Barda said as Jasmine untied her end of the rope. She dropped it to her knees and began fumbling in her pack. In moments she had scraped a shallow hole in the sand and thrown the guards' clubs into it.

"Never have these been put to better use," she said, laying the torch on top of the smooth, hard wood. Hellaine looked at the flames and muttered under her breath. She was happy to be resting and smiled as the flames grew. "Soon we'll have a cheering blaze," she smiled.

Jasmine beckoned impatiently and Lief, unable to resist any longer, flopped down beside her. Barda sat beside Hellaine. Seeing that Lief lay still, he groaned with relief, untied the binding cord from his own waist and stretched out.

The fire rose, crakling. The heavy sticks began to glow. The heat grew and spread.

"You two sleep," Hellaine told Barda and Jasmine. "I'll take the first watch."

"One of us could..."

"If you would allow me," Hellaine told Jasmine. "I would appreciate it. I won't sleep for a time as it is."

"Okay," Jasmine agreed reluctantly. Barda held out his hands. "Ah, wonderful!" he sighed and laid back to sleep.

And that was the last Lief heard. For the next moment, there was a great roar, the sand heaved, and the world about him seemed to explode.


	7. I have feared

**Hellaine: New Companion**

**Part 1: Lapis Lazuli**

* * *

><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not, under any circumstances, own Deltora Quest or any characters from the series.

**Rated: **T

**A/N: **I do own Hellaine and her past.

**Summary: **Lief, Barda and Jasmine meet the mysterious Jordan of the Sands, a fighter that hails from the stony wall around the Shifting Sands. Who is she? What does she want with the Games?

* * *

><p><strong>I Have Feared<strong>

* * *

><p>"Lief!" Jasmine cried. "Lief!"<p>

"Lief!" Barda called. "Where are you?"  
>"This useless," Hellaine seethed. "The storm could have wisked him miles away."<p>

"We have to find him!" Jasmine cried. "We have too!"

"We must find the center," Hellaine growled. "He is being drawn there. Send out Kree to watch for him."

Jasmine stared in surprise as if she'd forgotten the bird. As Jasmine whispered to KRee gently, Hellaine dug her notes out of Lief's pack.

"What are you looking at?"

"The warning," Hellaine said. "We are missing something, something important, something dangerous."

"Kree is going to look from the air, which way is the center?" Jasmine asked.

"We want to go towards the wind, towards the center of power, where everything is being sent from." Hellaine said.

"Why would we go towards the danger?" Jasmine snapped.

"That will lead us to the center," Hellaine growled back. They had been walking for hours, no sign of Lief or the center of the desert. "It is only logical."

"Fine. Go right to the heart of the danger, walk us to our deaths." Jasmine snapped.

"Jasmine, you know Hellaine is right." Barda spoke gently. Jasmine huffed, refusing to look at her friend. She knew the older girl was right, but she hated to admit it.

The trio walked for what felt like hours until they heard Kree's distinct screeching.

Lief's eyes flew open. The screeching went on. Something was circling above him, a blurry black shape against a dull yellow sky.

_Ak-Baba! Run! Hide!_

Then he blinked, and saw the circling shape was Kree – Kree, soaring lower, calling to him. He tried to sit up and found that he had settled too deeply in the sand. Sand covered the whole lower half of his body, his hands, his arms, his neck. . .

He scrambled, panting and trembling, to his feet. How long had he been asleep? What would have happened if Kree had not woke him up?

The dream was still vivid in his mind. And suddenly he understood what it meant.

"Lief!" BArda, Jasmine and Hellaine had appeared at the top of the next dune. Shouting, they began to slide down to him. Lief felt tears spring to his eyes at the sight of them, and realized that he had thought they were dead. He began staggering forward to meet them.

Hellaine held her arms out and let him collapse when he reached them. She thrust something at his lips and made him swallow the liquid inside. The first taste of the sweet water was amazing and left him wanting more. He downed half the bottle before he was even close to being done, but Hellaine pulled the bottle away and helped steady him.

"Better?" She asked gently. Lief nodded his thanks and breathed deeply.

Jasmine screamed, piercingly. She was pointing behind them.

Lief turned and saw what had emerged from the dune at his back. It was another sand beast, even bigger than the first. Sand still poured from the joints of its legs. It had been stalking him, but as he met its mirrored eyes, it froze. In moments, he knew, it would spring.

Backing away, holding its gaze, he felt for his sword, then, with horror, felt himself falling clumsily, entangled in the trailing ropes that had tripped him. The next moment he was struggling in the sand, his sword trapped beneath him. Wildly he scrambled to his knees, hearing Jasmine and Barda shouting, knowing it was too late, feeling as though he was caught in a nightmare. The monster lunged.

Then it jerked, with a grating cry, as an arrow lodged in its chest at the same moment a blister exploded. It staggered, lunged again, then toppled sideways as another blister loaded arrow found its mark. Its spiny legs kicked, and it began to spin, digging great trenches in the sand.

One ankle still caught in the rope, Lief crawled away, sobbing and gasping with relief. Jasmine came panting up to him, hauling him to his feet, freeing him from the rope. Barda was right behind her, careful to stay out of the path of Hellaine's arrows.

Lief began to choke out his thanks, but Hellaine waved him away. "This is not the first time I have saved your ass," she said. "Nor will it be the last. It is my fate to protect you, kid, be your nursemaid."

Shocked and deeply hurt, Lief took refuge in sullenness, and turned away.

Barda took him by the shoulders and spun him around. "Do not turn away from her!" he shouted. "What are you playing at? Why did you run away alone? Why did you not try to find after the quake?"

Barda was shaking with anger and slowly, Lief realized it was anger born of shock, fear, and worry. It was the anger he had sometimes seen in his parents' faces, when he came home long after curfew. When he took risks."

"He feels the pull," Hellaine told the man.

"There is no time for this now," snapped Jasmine, her eyes on the monsterous creature thrashing in the dune. "Argue another time. We must get away from here, and quickly. The beast is not dead. It may yet recover and come after us again."

Hellaine nodded and put her bow away quickly.

"Do not worry," said Lief quietly. "Where we are going, it will not follow."

They walked for many hours, but spoke little. It was as if Lief was listening to something the others couldn't hear, and they themselves grew more and more silent the closer they came to the center.

They saw it long before they reached it – a lone peak rising high from a flattened circle and ringed by rounded dunes. It shimmered against the yellow sky, alien and mysterious in the fading light. A mighty cone with darkness at its tip.

"I have feared this, and I was right to stay close to the border," Hellaine shivered.

"A volcano," Barda hissed.

Lief shook his head. "You will see," he said.

Filli crept, whimpering, under the shelter of Jasmine's collar. She whispered comfortingly to him, but her green eyes were dark with dread. The droning noise grew louder as they approached their goal. By the time they had reached its base and slowly beun their labor upwars, the air was vibrating with sounds.

Finally they reached the top, and were looking down into the peak's hollow core. A whirlpool of red sand roared far below, flying in the darkness as though driven by a mighty wind.

But there was no wind. And the sound was like the humming of bees in their countless millions.

The belt burned around Lief's waist.

"What is this?" Barda was breathing hard, staring down, his big, blunt hands gripping his sword.

Hellaine paled in fear as she recited the warning once more.

"Death swarms within its rocky wall

Where all are one, one will rules all.

Below the dead, the living strive

With mindless will…"

"To serve the hive," Lief finished.

"The sand is the Guardian," Hellaine shook.

Barda shook his head. "But – it cannot be," he breathed. "The sand is not alive! We have walked upon it, seen creatures –"

"Creatures that never stop; never rest, their home is the sands. They know how to burrow, how to survive." Hellaine shook.

"The creatures we have seen are crawling on a much larger host," Lief said his voice very low. "The dunes we have been treading are only a covering made up of the long dead. The living work below, serving the Hive. It is they who collect the treasures that fall, leaving distinct impressions in the sand, they who cause the storms."

"The gem – "

"The gem, dropped anywhere on the sands, would at last be drawn to the center." Hellaine said. "It happens to anything of value."

Lief tore his eyes away from the whirlpool within the core and turned to Jasmine. "We need smoke," he said. "Smoke, not fire."

Without a word she knelt and began pulling things from her pack. Her hands, Lief saw, were tembling.

His own hands were not very steady as he gave his sword to Hellaine and took the rope from Barda. But as he knotted the rope around his chest with Hellaine's help, he was half-smiling, and his voice shook only a little.

"I fear you must be my nursemaid again, Hellaine, Barda," he said. "Again, I need your help, Hellaine, and your strength, Barda – and your rope as well. But this time, I beg you, don't let me go."

Lief crawled over the lip of the pit and stepped into empty space. He dangled, swinging gently to and fro, looking up at hellaine and Barda's worried faces and their hands, the knuckles white gripping the rope.

"Slowly," he mouthed. He saw them nod and their hands move slowly. Them gently, he began to sink through the core of the cne.

Lief's cloak was bound tightly around him and its hood drawn close around his head and face, covering all but his eyes. Smoke from the dampened torch, well padded with wet rags, billowed around him. He was not certain it would help, but certainly no other weapon would be useful here. Besides, ever since his dream, Queen Bee's words had kept coming back to him, and surly that was for a reason.

He could remember the words so clearly. Strangely, here, at the droning, swirling hub of the Sands, his mind had cleared and sharpened. Perhaps the Hive was no longer calling him, because it had no need. He was where it had wanted him to be all along.

He looked up. His friends' faces were tiny now. He was hardly able to see them against the glare of the sky. Below, the seething mass that was the Hive was whirling, rising to meet him.

He braced himself, closed his eyes. The he felt it, rough wind, a stinging whirlwind, sucking him in. It spun savagely about him, whipping him, pressing in on him, with a sound like thunder.

It was too strong. Too strong!

He could not see. He could not breath. Spun in a raging torrent of sound, he did not know which way was up, which was down.

Hellaine's words came back to mind.

_I warn you. The Sands are dangerous, it kills and destroys. It knows only prize, food, enemy. It is this which makes it most dangerous, for it does not live, so it does not feel._

The Hive cared nothing for him. To the Hive he was not food, or a captive prize, or even a hated enemy to be defeated. To the Hive he was nothing but the carrier of the thing it desired. The Hive would suffocate him. It would rub the clothes from his flesh and the flesh from his bones. Then it would have what it wanted. What it had wanted from the beginning.

The Belt of Deltora.

Panic gripped Lief by the throat. He began to struggle, to scream –

_Softly, boy, softly. Gently, gently!_

The crabbed old voice was as clear in his mind as if it had spoken right beside his ear. It was like cold water splashed on his face.

The screams died in his throat. He opened his eyes. He forced himself to be still, to stop gasping for air, to breathe even.

He opened his eyes a fraction. Through the narrow slits he saw that the smoke pouring from the torch had at last begun mingling with the whirling red and the whirling was quieted. The Hive was slowing, and thinning, retreating to the darkness at the sides of the cone. The thing that its fury had previously hidden was at last revealed – a glistening pyramid rising through the cone's center.

Slowly, carefully, Lief reached up and tugged the rope once. His downward progress stopped with a slight jolt as, far above, Hellaine and Barda received his signal.

For a moment he simply swung in space, staring, fascinated, through the drifting smoke, at the astounding thing the living Sand had built, tended and guarded for years without number.

The belt throbbed and burned at his waist, dragging him downward, into the pit of the cone.

His pulled his cloak and shirt aside to reveal the Belt, and looked down at it, peering through wreaths of smoke. He could hardly see the topaz and the ruby, but the opal shone, dancing with sparkling lights so that it seemed alive.

What did that mean? HE struggled to see in his mind the words about the powers of the opal in _The Belt of Deltora_.

** The opal, symbol of hope, shines with all the colors of the rainbow. It has  
><strong>**the power to give glimpses of the future, and to aid those with weak sight.  
><strong>**The opal . . .**

_What came next?_ Lief screwed his eyes tightly closed to help him think, but after a moment he opened them again, shaking his head desperately. He could not remember the end.

He looked up to the top of the pyramid. He knew that the gem was most likely to be there. It had been dropped into the Shifting Sands just before King endon was overthrown. That was little over sixteen years ago, and the pyramid had been growling for many ages.

The first thing he saw was Hellaine's dagger, fitted point downwards into the very tip of the tower. It had been the last thing taken, so was at the top. One day the metal would rust away. But the diamond would survive, and other finds would take the place of the metal parts.

Below the dagger, neatly arranged, were many gold coins, and the Champion's medal from the Rithmere Games. They were locked into place with a mass of shining white bones.

Lief shuddered. Not a scrap of flesh still clung to the bones, but he knew that they were all that remained of Carn 2 and carn 8, the Grey Guards. The Hive worked quickly.

He realized that the pyramid seemed clearer than it had before. For a moment he wondered why that was. Then he saw that the torch was smoking less. It was starting to die.

His stomach lurched. For how much longer would the Hive stay droning at the sides of the cone? As the smoke thinned . . .

He looked below the bones and saw some small glass pots, some bracelets, two rocks, and what looked like the jawbone of a horse. And below that –

His heart seemed to miss a beat. There, pinpoints of light piercing it smooth, dark blue surface, was a stone like a starry night sky.

The forgotten words from _The Belt of Deltora_ flashed at last into his mind.

** …The opal has a special relationship with the Lapis Lazuli, the heavenly  
><strong>**Stone, a powerful talisman.**

The Lapis Lazuli! There it lay, carefully wedged into place, the fourth gem of the Belt of Deltora.

He reached for it, then abruptly drew back his hand. If he pulled the stone from its place, the things resting upon it would surely topple and fall. Then the Hive would attack. He would be dead before he could carry his prize to the surface, and the lapis lazuli, the belt itself, would be lost.

His only hope was to replace the great gem with something else. Something of about the same size. Frantically, he felt in his pockets, though he knew he had nothing – nothing . . .

The his fingers touched something in the top pocket of his shirt. Something small, hard, and oddly shaped. He pulled it out and found that it was Jasmine's little wooden bird, the exact size of the Lapis Lazuli.

The Hive droned with growing suspicion. It was waking, becoming active, as the smoke began to disappear. Holding his breath, Lief reached again for the lapis lazuli, but this time he grasped in his other hand, the little wooden bird.

H eased the lapis lazuli from its place. It warmed in his fingers, and moved easily, more easily than he expected, as though, it wanted to be free.

_The opal is calling it_, he thought feeling the answering warmth at his waist. He felt the lapis lazuli slip into his hand, and quickly pushed the little wooden bird into the free space.

Not quickly enough. The top of the tower trembled. The droning from the walls of the cone became louder, more alert. The red cloud swayed inward. Its outside edge just touched the bare skin of Lief's chest, searing, burning. He smothered a screm of anguish.

_Quietly, quietly_ . . .

Sweat dripping into his eyes, trying to screen out the pain , Lief lifted a hand and tugged at the rope. Once, twice . . . Beside him, the pyramid swayed. If it should fall. If anything should fall . . .

The dagger toppled from its place, turning in the air. Lief snatched at it one-handed, just managing to catch it by its tip as he rose beside it, the dying torch tucked under one arm.

With agonizing slowness, he was drawn to the surface. Below him, the droning sound was rumbling, rising, as the Hive did not yet know it had been robbed. It was still sleepy and distracted because smoke still drifted in the air. The smoke was faint now, so faint . . .

But it was still working its magic as Lief crawled into the fresh air avbove.

As he stood up on the rim of the cone, he turned joyously to Barda, Hellaine and Jasmine as he opened his hand to show them the heavenly stone, the clouds that had covered the sky flew apart like torn rags. The stars and the moon beamed down again upon the dark earth like a blessing, and the lapis lazuli sparkled back at them like a tiny mirror.

"What a sight," Hellaine smiled. "You never know how much you can miss the stars until you live without them for a year."

The lapis lazuli slipped into the Belt and glowed there, alive under the moon.

Lief turned to Jasmine. "I had to leave your little bird behind." He said softly.

"It got us the lapis lazuli, it is a far greater trade for us," she replied.

Lief nodded and turned next to Hellaine. "Without your help, we may have died out here. I hope you will continue your journey with us in exchange for this," he said softly and gave her the dagger. Hellaine took the blade gently into her hands and ran her thumb over the intricate vine and flower pattern on the sheath.

"Thank you, Lief," she sighed. "Moonflowers, native to my home. Father made me this sheath for his dagger when he gave it to me. He had it embroidered with moonflowers." She smiled. "It would be an honor to travel with you. My knowledge is at your disposal."

She slipped the dagger onto her belt where she could keep a secure hand on the hilt.

Lief swayed and Barda gripped his arm. "The lapis lazuli is the talisman, Barda," he whispered. "We will be safe now. But let us leave this place."

"We will return to the cabin," Hellaine said. "There we can eat, rest and speak for a few days before we continue on. There we can stock up for the journey ahead and leave anything left behind for the creatures of the desert."

Barda, jasmine and Lief nodded their agreement, starting into the dark sand. It was time to gather strength for the next great gem awaited them at Dread Mountain.


	8. End Part 1: Lapis Lazuli

_**HERE ENDS PART 1 OF**_

_**Hellaine: New Companion**_


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